Excerpt: Home to the nation’s largest data center market, its third-largest port, the third-highest concentration of tech workers and the HQ of 37 Fortune 1000 companies, Virginia offers diverse opportunities for success.
Virginia’s depth of talent, top 10 ranking as a place to do business and exceptional livability, make it a location of choice for companies’ corporate services functions. There are 37 Fortune 1000 companies with headquarters in Virginia, and an educated pipeline of employees ready to support additional growth in business services and operations centers of excellence. Virginia’s middle market cities and rural locations also serve as attractive options as companies look to relocate operations out of higher-cost areas.
With most on-premise and legacy PBX
solutions, the use of a desk phone relies on being hardwired to the PBX
and PSTN networks. But these outdated phone systems weren’t built to
accommodate the large remote workforces that we’re seeing today.
Companies that don’t support a bring-your-own-device environment are extremely challenged right now in four key areas:
Security: The inability to
secure these devices and workflows puts confidential company information
at risk with each call, creating an IT administrator’s nightmare.
Functionality: Lack of key
business PBX features for admins, sales, support, and managers can
negatively impact the way a business runs in today’s environment.
Remote administration: Legacy solutions often are not easily managed offsite, making them difficult to update and troubleshoot.
Customer operations: Inbound
calls to the main business number need to be answered from anywhere and
calls need to be routed to the right employees, especially for sales and
support.
Southside Health District Confirms Case of COVID-19 in Brunswick County
The Southside Health District announced today a case of COVID-19 in a
Brunswick County resident in his 20s. He is isolating at home. To
protect patient privacy, no further information will be provided about
this case, and VDH does not provide specific information on an
investigation.
““We continue to see new cases of COVID-19 throughout the
Commonwealth, and it’s now in our area. This reminds us how very
critical it is that people follow public health guidelines on social
distancing and good hygiene,” said Southside Health District Director
Dr. Scott Spillmann. “Staying home and social distancing are the most
effective strategies in limiting the spread of COVID-19, and lessening
the impact of this pandemic.”
Most patients with COVID-19 have mild to moderate symptoms. However,
in a small proportion of patients, COVID-19 can lead to more severe
illness, including death, particularly among those who are older or
those who have chronic medical conditions. Symptoms include fever,
cough, and difficulty breathing. Symptoms appear within 14 days of being
exposed to an infectious person. COVID-19 spreads primarily through
respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
To lower the risk of spreading respiratory infections, including
COVID-19, the Virginia Department of Health encourages the following
effective behaviors:
Stay home as much as possible — especially when you are sick.
Avoid contact with sick people.
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when coughing or sneezing.
Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds;
use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
If you are experiencing symptoms, call your doctor.
Practice social distancing. Maintain at least six feet of space between yourself and other individuals when out in public.
NOTE: This case has not yet been added to the statewide count on the VDH website. Cases are updated daily at www.vdh.virginia.gov/coronavirus, with the numbers as of 5 p.m. the evening before.
Due to the COVID19 Pandemic and the Governor’s Executive Stay at Home Order, the April IDA monthly Board meeting scheduled for Tuesday, April 14, 2020 has been CANCELLED.
WASHINGTON – Today,
as part of the Trump Administration’s aggressive, whole-of-government
efforts to combat the Coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) and minimize
economic disruption to the nation’s 30 million small businesses, U.S.
Small Business Administration Administrator Jovita Carranza issued revised criteria for states or territories seeking an economic injury declaration related to Coronavirus (COVID-19).
The relaxed criteria will have two immediate impacts:
Faster, Easier Qualification Process for States Seeking SBA Disaster Assistance. Historically,
the SBA has required that any state or territory impacted by disaster
provide documentation certifying that at least five small businesses
have suffered substantial economic injury as a result of a disaster,
with at least one business located in each declared county/parish. Under
the just-released, revised criteria, states or territories are only
required to certify that at least five small businesses within the
state/territory have suffered substantial economic injury, regardless of
where those businesses are located.
Expanded, Statewide Access to SBA Disaster Assistance Loans for Small Businesses.
SBA disaster assistance loans are typically only available to small
businesses within counties identified as disaster areas by a Governor. Under
the revised criteria issued today, disaster assistance loans will be
available statewide following an economic injury declaration. This will
apply to current and future disaster assistance declarations related to
Coronavirus.
“We’re very encouraged that banks and financial institutions are
responding to the President’s efforts to mobilize an unprecedented
public-private response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. As a
result, most small businesses that need credit during these uncertain
times will be able to obtain it. However, our goal is to ensure that
credit is available to any and all small businesses that need credit but
are unable to access it on reasonable terms through traditional lending
channels,” said Administrator Carranza. “To that end, the SBA is
relaxing the criteria through which states or territories may formally
request an economic injury declaration, effective immediately.
Furthermore, once an economic injury declaration has been made in a
state or territory, the new rules allow the affected small businesses
within the state or territory to apply for a disaster assistance loan.”
SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans offer up to $2 million in
assistance for each affected small business. These loans can provide
vital economic support to small businesses to help overcome the
temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing.
Process for Accessing SBA’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) Disaster Relief Lending
The U.S. Small Business Administration is offering designated
states and territories low-interest federal disaster loans for working
capital to small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a
result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Upon a request received from a
state’s or territory’s Governor, SBA will issue under its own authority,
as provided by the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental
Appropriations Act that was recently signed by the President, an
Economic Injury Disaster Loan declaration.
Any such Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance declaration issued by the SBA makes loans available statewide
to small businesses and private, non-profit organizations to help
alleviate economic injury caused by the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
SBA’s Office of Disaster Assistance will coordinate with
the state’s or territory’s Governor to submit the request for Economic
Injury Disaster Loan assistance.
Once a declaration is made, the information on the
application process for Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance will be
made available to affected small businesses within the state.
These loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll,
accounts payable and other bills that can’t be paid because of the
disaster’s impact. The interest rate is 3.75% for small businesses. The
interest rate for non-profits is 2.75%.
SBA offers loans with long-term repayments in order to keep
payments affordable, up to a maximum of 30 years. Terms are determined
on a case-by-case basis, based upon each borrower’s ability to repay.
SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans are just one piece of
the expanded focus of the federal government’s coordinated response, and
the SBA is strongly committed to providing the most effective and
customer-focused response possible.
For additional information, please visit the SBA disaster assistance website at SBA.gov/Disaster.
###
About the U.S. Small Business Administration The
U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business
ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small
businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA
empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and
support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover
from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive
network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private
organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.
On Tuesday, January 14, 2020, Governor Ralph Northam was the keynote speaker at the Ribbon Cutting for Echo Communications, LLC which is located at 300 North Main Street, Lawrenceville, VA (Old Bank of America Building). Pictured below with the governor are members of the Brunswick County Board of Supervisors, Gloria Mene-Weather Woods, IDA Chairman Brunswick, Vice Chair Morris D aylor County IDA, Mayor Scott Martin, Business Director for IDA Mike Dotti CJ Dean, Town Manager, Lawrenceville Town Council, and Kristin Muzzy Echo World, Carl Townsend CEO Echo World Communications.
High-speed internet availability sealed the deal for a new call center, says Michael Dotti. Photo by Mark Rhodes
High-speed fiber-optic internet service still eludes about 50% of
Virginians, but the state’s Southside region is making progress.
In the town of Lawrenceville, the former Bank of America branch on Main
Street has sat empty for two years. However, in late September, Gov.
Ralph Northam announced that Bedford County-based Echo World
Communications LLC is set to locate a call center in the former bank
building next year. It’s expected to create up to 152 new jobs.
It never would have happened if the building couldn’t have been
equipped with high-speed, reliable internet, says Michael Dotti,
business director of the Brunswick County Industrial Development
Authority. “It’s a huge amount of technology. This was like small-town
guys getting it done.”
Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative (MEC) is wiring the bank building this
fall at no cost to Brunswick, with funding from Mid-Atlantic Broadband
Communities Corp., which started in 2004 as a cooperative to bring
fiber-optic networks to rural Virginia. The broadband cooperative also
has installed about 90 miles of fiber cables in six Southern Virginia
counties, with 45 more miles planned by the end of 2020.
MEC also has proposed the purchase of Buggs Island Telephone
Cooperative (BIT) by MEC affiliate Empower Broadband. The merger is
contingent on BIT’s 4,500 customers, who have been asked to submit votes
by Nov. 13.
“We expect it will speed up the process of putting fiber in this area,”
says David Lipscomb, MEC’s vice president of member and energy services
and vice president of Empower. MEC’s customer base averages only seven
properties per mile, he says, so the greater population density around
BIT’s service area in Lake Gaston will provide more revenue and help
fund high-speed internet expansion in the region.
The Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission, which has
awarded MEC nearly $3 million in grants, also has been instrumental in
building local network infrastructure.
MEC was in a position to help Lawrenceville install high-speed internet
at the bank branch, even though it’s not in its service area, Lipscomb
notes. As a result, the county was able to attract the call center.
Broadband is “the tool that you need in this world for businesses to
want to be in a rural community,” says Carthan Currin III, former
director of the tobacco commission and now Brunswick County’s director
of economic development. “I think Mecklenburg is really at the forefront
of the commonwealth, but we’re coming. We’re making every effort.”
Source: https://www.revitalizeva.org/2019/10/15/101019-tobacco-commission-meets-in-marion/ Written by Jordan Butler
TOBACCO REGION REVITALIZATION COMMISSION MEETS IN MARION
Commission Approves 18 Funding Requests for Projects in Southern and Southwest Virginia
Richmond, VA – The Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission met
on Thursday, October 10th to give final approval for 18 funding
requests. The 18 requests total more than $15.4 million and will support
projects across Southern and Southwest Virginia. The total funds
awarded break down as follows: $8 million for a potential Tobacco Region
Opportunity Fund (TROF) project, $3.94 million for economic development
projects in Southwest Virginia, $1.99 million for economic development
projects in Southern Virginia and $1.5 million for Research and
Development projects. Additionally the Commission authorized various
extensions for existing projects. The individual requests approved
ranged in size from $57,000 to $8 million.
Tobacco Commission Chairman, Delegate Terry Kilgore said, “It was a
pleasure to hold our Commission meetings in Marion. The projects the
Commission approved will bring much needed jobs, tourism dollars and
other benefits to Southern and Southwest Virginia. I look forward to our
January meetings in Richmond as we continue our work to bring
opportunity to the regions we serve.”
Tobacco Commission Executive Director, Evan Feinman added, “The
Tobacco Commission continues to make investments that will grow the
economy of Southern and Southwest Virginia for years to come. From
tourism to education and more, I believe the projects the Commission
chose to support at our meeting in Marion will keep us on the right path
towards a vibrant and diversified regional economy.”
The Tobacco Commission is committed to developing a diverse economy
in Southern and Southwest Virginia. The funding requests approved over
the two day meeting will continue to move the region toward that goal.
